


Finding the Light

by cocoahime



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Adventure, Angst, BlackIce, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Jack Has Issues, M/M, Pitch is a pissbaby, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 04:21:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6500623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cocoahime/pseuds/cocoahime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jamie grows up and apart from Jack as time moves on and so do the guardians. But ten years after the battle with the Boogeyman, Jack is left deeply unsettled when Jamie's belief, his very presence in Jack's soul gutters. Jamie goes missing and Jack goes on a search for his first believer, determined to bring him home safely. He finds help in the most unlikely of places. BlackIce</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding the Light

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody! I'm very excited to upload the first chapter Finding the Light. Let me know what you think, leave comments and kudos, or if there are any errors i missed while editing because i currently don't have a beta.
> 
> The Guardians are very near and dear to my heart and I'm glad to finally contribute to this fandom. Enjoy!
> 
> -Cocoa

Jack sat in the bough of a pine tree, stirred by a cool wind. It smelled fresh and sharp and Jack smiled serenely. it was only October, but winter was coming early it seemed and Jack was eager to help it on it’s way. He swung his staff and flurries of snow followed, coating the branches below. A snow day this early in the year, the kids would be ecstatic. Jack’s believers might be few and far between, but usually one or two kids would see him in his mischief making wherever he might be. Feeling energized, jack leapt from his perch to catch a passing wind, and soared up laughing. a storm began in earnest following him as he headed towards the sleepy town.

Leaves rustled and fell in his wake. A bittersweet feeling rose in him, visiting the town where Jamie lived always did. Jack hadn't been around for a long while, after his first believers began to outgrow him it was too hard. But lately he'd been feeling a pull to return, to check up on them, on Jamie

Fat snowflakes began to collect on rooftops, and windowsills iced as jack breezed past. Without any real destination in mind, he found himself at the window of a familiar house. Gently, he placed his hand on the glass and let his frost weave patterns over it. A smiled crossed his face, and he left for the next house. Jack frosted many a window and left a blanket of white in his wake. He played with the children, now free from classes. He would hang around the kids he used to know, now young adults and try to catch their attention in the most irritating of ways. Snow falling from tree branches, slippery sidewalks, an unexpected snowball. Funny as it might be however, Jack noticed that something was off. He’d seen everybody, except for Jamie. After several days of his antics, Jack became uneasy.

'What am I missing,' he wondered aloud. Jack didn’t often spend time with others, so sometimes he would speak to himself, with nobody around to hear him. It was comforting.

Jack ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He felt a knot of worry form in his stomach and tried to ignore his gut.  
Being the independent spirit that he was, Jack wasn’t often compelled to visit any one place, so feeling a pull to stay in Jamie’s town this long was a bit abnormal. With a wave jack dismissed the thought. He'd leave in the morning. It was nothing but nostalgia that kept him around, or so he kept telling himself.

'Maybe' thought jack 'He left for college or something'.  
That made sense, Jamie was around that age anyways. Lot’s of kids had moved to different towns to go to school, why should Jamie be any different? That thought eased Jack’s mind, and so he willed away his worry for the time being.

XXXXXXXX

Jack was sleeping on the roof of a house that night, when suddenly, his chest spasmed with pain. He coughed and clutched at himself desperately. Jack felt colder than ice, like a light inside him had gone out. Like he'd lost a believer. This was different though, more like something had reached in and stolen the light right out of his very soul. He wheezed for a long minute, catching his breath, hands clammy and chest still heaving. Jack's thoughts were racing a mile a minute when suddenly he had a realization. Jack knew the light that had left him. 

"Jamie" he exhaled a puff of icy breath, dread had an iron grip around his heart. 

He never stopped believing in jack after all, it seemed. Still shaking he grabbed his staff and pushed himself up. Jack stumbled as he jumped on the wind, he felt off kilter. Something was very wrong. He raced towards Jamie's house.

XXXXXXX

Within minutes, Jack was stumbling into the yard of the Bennett household looking around frantically. He could hear commotion coming from inside the house. He peeked over the windows ledge into the kitchen, where he could see a very tearful Mrs.Bennett on the phone. Jack could make out some of the conversation, but not all of it.

“Yes, yes…okay, we’ll be right there…What?! What do you mean gone?!” He heard her shout.  
She became even more frantic, a hand covering her mouth in horror. Jack felt sick, he thought he was going to pass out. Jamie wasn’t dead, he couldn’t be.

“Oh god,” he moaned aloud.

He turned around, back to the wall, and slid down into a crouch. Jack buried his head in his hands and choked on his breath. he looked up to the sound of the front door slamming and the Bennett family sans one make their way as quick as they could into the car.  
Jack thumbed away his frozen tears and made to follow them, he needed to know what happened to Jamie.

Jack trailed after the car as quick as the wind would take him, around bends and turns as they made their way onto a lonely country road. Jack heard the sirens as they approached and his stomach jumped into his throat.

Car crash, by the looks of it. He kept himself at a bit of a distance, after all Sophie, jamie's sister, was still young enough to see him; And she would no doubt, growing up with Jamie. Jack stayed hidden behind their car and listened as Jamie's mother spoke to the police officer. 

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” said the officer. The portly man offered her an apologetic smile.

Mrs.Bennet leveled him with a look that spoke volumes and tearfully asked “what happened to my son?” 

Her hands wrung themselves and she looked terrified of what he would say. The officer, for the most part, looked skittish, like he wasn’t sure what to say. 

“Well ma'am, we aren’t exactly sure,” he scratched the back of his head and couldn’t meet her gaze, and continued, “he wasn’t in the car when we arrived, and the eyewitness didn’t see the crash happen, only happened across the wreck. We’ve got a search team looking for him as we speak. We don’t think he’s gotten too far yet, try not to worry too much. He is alive, clearly.” 

The Bennet parents exchanged a look and continued speaking to the officer but jack tuned them out, he’d heard all he needed to.  
Jack glided around the family and over to the car. It looked awful, hood all crunched in against a tree with smoke drifting from it. For a moment Jack feared that it was his own fault. Bad weather caused crashes all the time. But he shook away the thought, He would never intentionally make black ice. Jack was mischievous, not evil.

He peeked inside and saw no trace of Jamie. “Wait what?” Jack leaned his body through the window, looking closer now. There really was no trace, no blood, no torn clothing, nothing. Just broken glass and dirt. 

Jack pulled away, clutching his stomach, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this scared. Scared of losing someone he cared about, scared for Jamie. Jack followed voices that shouted from the treeline. He could see flashlight beams waving back and forth through the trees and he looked with them, listening for any sign of his friend. He searched behind trees and scanned the ground for footprints to no avail.

Then there was motion in Jacks peripheral vision and he whipped his head around, hoping he’d found him. A shadow bounded away from him deeper into the forest and jack was in the air following it in a split second. His limbs were numb with fear, if it was Jamie why was he running away? Could it be some kind of animal? 

Jack cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted “JAMIE!” 

He wasn’t even sure he’d hear him anyways. 

Jack felt a sense of deja vu, he’d done something like this before, chasing after shadows in the dark. 

Jack lost sight of the thing around a sharp corner and he looked all around him but could see nothing. Dread filled him. ‘No, there’s no way, I can’t lose him,’ he thought frantically. “NO!” He yelled “No no no no no…” Jack fisted a hand in his hair and floated to the ground.

He curled his knees to his chest and tears overcame him. “This is my fault, I should have kept an eye on him. I should have visited him more often… I- I” 

Jack's chest heaved and he fought to remain calm. A sudden wave of a deeper older fear washed through Jack's body leaving him feeling empty. He didn’t want to be alone anymore, and with Jamie's light so dim, he might as well be gone already. 

Jack didn’t know how long he sat there, but it must have been a while. He couldn’t hear the people from the search party anymore. Slowly, jack picked himself up and dusted off his pants. It was like somebody gutted him, he felt so hollow. Staff in hand, he made his way back.

Jamie's family must have gone home, their car wasn’t there anymore, and only a few people remained at the scene, the cleanup crew no doubt. Jack wasn’t sure why he lingered but he felt like there was something that was there and he just hadn’t found it yet. He poked around the vehicle with his staff, leaving specks of frost here and there. That's when jack saw it, it was only a glint but he was on the ground in a second. His fingers trailed across the dirt and came away with a light covering of black sand and bits of glass. It had an unnatural sheen, like oil. 

If jack was scared before, what he felt now was multiplied tenfold.

‘I’ve got to get the guardians.’ He thought. Jack shot up into the sky on a gust of wind and made his way as fast as he could to North's workshop.

XXXXXXXXXXX 

Jack raced the winds, catching updrafts and currents. He flew as fast as the wind could take him, and burst into the workshop on a blast of arctic air. The doors banged open, startling yetis and elves alike and coating everything if a fine dust of snow. Distantly, Jack knew they were shouting at him, but right now that was unimportant. He had to find North. Jack zipped through the workshop, going through room after room until, finally, discovering North in his study. 

“Jack,” north cried jubilantly, “what is bringing you here, my frantic friend?” north seemed to only just realize Jack's state of stress, both hair and eyes wild.

“Jack, what is wrong?” he asked, closing the book on his lap.

“North, I need your help, I think pitch has escaped.” jack blurted out in a breathless rush. 

North's face immediately grew sober and serious. He crossed his massive arms, brows furrowed.

“Tell me of why you are thinking this Jack.” he rumbled.

“Uh okay,” jack ran a hand through his already windswept hair “You remember Jamie right? One of the kids who helped us defeat Pitch years ago? There was an accident, and now he's missing. When I went to go look for him, I found black sand, like the stuff pitch was stealing from sandy. And I'm not sure, but I think I saw one of his shadows too.”

North hummed thoughtfully, and stroked his beard with one hand. Then he sighed, long and heavy. 

“Jack,” he began gently, “You are sure it is not some coincidence? Pitch is having no use for adults. And this Jamie, he is certainly an adult now yes?”

Jack stared at him, tears prickling his eyes. North waited expectantly, saying nothing and having too much sympathy in his gaze for Jack’s liking. When Jack stayed silent, North spoke again.

“It is okay to be upset Jack, but you must be taking a step back and looking again. Humans are fragile, and sometimes, accidents happen. You are telling me that he is missing yes? Then perhaps he will be found soon, you must have patience” North paused to lay a huge hand on Jack's shoulder, “and faith.” 

Jack shook his head angrily and pulled out of North's grip.

“Haven't you heard of a vendetta, North? What if he's out for revenge,” Jack demanded. 

But even as he said it, he realized how far-fetched it sounded. If Pitch wanted revenge, it would be against the guardians, not a human. As if to confirm Jack's thought, North spoke again, softer this time, like Jack might bolt at any moment.

“Try to be understanding Jack, because I am not saying these things to be cruel. Humans perceive beings like us with difficulty. It is not their nature, to know of the supernatural. And likewise, we cannot meddle in the affairs of humans, unless they are children. Jack, you have always been quick to the conclusion jumping yes? I am certain that it is not as grave as you think.”

When North looked at Jack, it was nothing but compassion, and Jack felt a spark of anger. It wouldn't matter if Jack was thousands of years old, north would always see a misguided youth, who only needed some fatherly advice to set him right. Jack said nothing, only nodded. He didn’t trust himself to speak, because it would most definitely be something he’d regret.

“How about this? We will have tooth and her little ones keep an eye out for Jamie yes? For they are many, and see much.”  
North was clearly trying very hard, to find something that would comfort Jack. And it was working jack thought begrudgingly. That was an idea jack could get behind, and tooth would no doubt be happy to help.

“Yeah, thanks north.” Jack smiled, even though he was still peeved; But his initial panic had abated some and there was just something about the big man, Jack couldn't hold any real malice toward the guardian of wonder. Irritation, yes, but not anger. North then proceeded to give jack a bone-rattling pat on the back.

“Wonderful!” he exclaimed. “Be saying hello to Tooth for me,” he told Jack, just before he could slip through the door. 

“Will do North, see ya later.”

Jack floated through the workshop full of noise and color, he made sure to steal a few cinnamon cookies from the yetis before he left. Jack wasn’t sure how North could stand living there. Even short visits while fun, were very overstimulating.

XXXXXXXXX

He flew on the winds to his next stop, Punjam Hy Loo. The Tooth palace was as beautiful and busy as ever, with Toothiana at the center of a storm of flitting faeries. A few of them greeted jack as they flew by, tugging on strands of hair and peeping excitedly. They flew to tooth, who turned to see him, a smile lit up her face.

”oh! Jack, how nice of you to pop by!” 

Toothiana’s excitement to see him was infectious, he felt better already. “tooth, how's it going- oof,” jack asked just as he received an armful of feathers.  
“Everything is good! Busy busy busy, but you know how it is.” she shrugged and put a hand out for it to be filled with teeth by the arriving faeries. “Oh, what a nice bicuspid,” she exclaimed excitedly. 

Jack trailed after her as she went to put them in their proper places. Tooth was as distractible as ever, it seemed.

“So jack, what brings you by? oh, not that I don't love a friendly visit now and again. It's just so rare that you come through this part of the globe.”

Jack snorted, sometimes Tooth talked faster than he could keep up. 

“I do have a reason actually, Do you remember Jamie Bennett?” 

“Sure I do! lost a tooth in a ‘sledding accident’,” she used air quotes, and gave jack a pointed look, “And him and all his little friends helped out with pitch, right?.” 

“yeah, um he's actually missing. and i was wondering if you could have your girls keep a look out for him, just in case? I hope that's not too much of a favor tooth,” jack said sheepishly.

“Oh jack,” she rubbed his arm in a gesture of comfort, all her feathers had drooped sadly. “Of course we can look, it's no trouble. Do you know where he was last?” 

“Near his hometown I'm pretty sure... There was an accident.” jack hesitated, not sure whether to share his own conclusion with her.  
He decided against it, Jack couldn't deal with not being believed again. If North didn't think it was possible, neither would the others, most likely. Tooth nodded once, determined.

“The second we find anything, you’ll know Jack. Jamie's going to be fine.” 

she squeezed his arm one more time before letting her hand drop.

“Thanks Tooth, you're the best.” she smiled fondly, and quickly, squeezed him in one more tight hug. “I’ll be in touch jack.”

She flew back to the tower to tend to the faeries who were waiting. Jack waved at her with his staff.

It was really a shame Tooth was so busy, he’d spend more time around her. She was by far one of the the kindest people he’d ever met. It would also help if India wasn’t so hot. He was ignoring it for the time being, but the heat was starting to become uncomfortable. Jack flew up past the glittering towers and into the clouds overhead. It was cooler up there, and jack needed time to gather his thoughts.

Now what, he wondered to himself. He’d spent a few days simply flying all over the globe, and while Jack didn’t care for portal travel, it might have been helpful in saving time. He could go back to look for Jamie, that seemed like the most logical course of action.

He also hadn’t talked to the remaining guardians, but Jack felt that might be for the best. Sandy was busier even than Toothiana, he practically never got a break. Jack would feel terrible if he ended up wasting Sandy’s time; And Bunny was argumentative at the best of times, and took Jack seriously even less than North did. He would go to bunny if his hunch was correct, but until then, better to wait on speaking to the grumpy guardian. 

Jack still felt conflicted though; on one hand, he was very sure of what he'd seen at the scene of the wreck, but on the other, north did have a point; humans were not aware of the supernatural and seldom came into direct contact. It wasn't normal. He'd check again, he decided. Maybe Jamie's family had already found him. Doubtful, but jack could hope. At worst, he'd be no closer to knowing what happened than he was before. Jack figured there wasn't anything to lose. 

Feeling determined, he called a wind to take him back to the small town he'd grown so fond of. It licked at his clothes and tugged at him insistently, as though it wanted Jack to hurry. The wind often had a will of it's own, so Jack followed it, it had never steered him wrong before.


End file.
